Tuesday, January 28, 2025 – Nuance

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Hey All!

Huge congrats to Sam Farrell who ran the Clearwater Half in Florida and came 3rd in her age group! Very solid for this time of year when most of us are solidly in base training mode.

As a lifelong runner who has endured my fair share of ups and downs in terms of results, motivation and passion towards the sport, I’ve been contemplating how I’ve managed to remain engaged in it for so long. Angela Duckworth coined the definition of Grit as being the combination of perseverance and passion over a long period of time. One impediment to this for many people is our internal wiring to seek novelty. We are wired to seek out new experiences as this usually allows us to respond to different environments and stimuli, and develop and grow in new ways. This is exciting, rewarding, and probably key to our survival. So how do we remain focused on long-term goals while incorporating our drive for novelty seeking? Duckworth explains that many experts do this by substituting nuance for novelty. Is there a way to keep working towards my goal, but approaching it with a new lens or from a different angle? This is what keeps passionate people from getting “bored” of their pursuits.

In running there are many ways to find nuance. I think what some of us might experience at times though, is that we find something that we love and that works for us, and we cling to it, and are fearful of deviating from our routine. This can definitely work for a long while. Repetition afterall is the key to running success. But it’s not unusual to find yourself in a slump, or lacking the spark or motivation you once had. Again, I’ve been through this cycle in running a number of times! So what’s the answer? Find something new and exciting about it. This takes a little bit of effort on your part, as seeking out nuance takes some drive and curiosity. And jumping the track from your well-worn path to a new unpaved one is challenging. But that’s where the fun lies. In the past few years I’ve raced an Ironman and done a couple of seasons of training and racing 1500’s on the track. These are very different types of training, but they both involve running. Sometimes the shift can just be a season of all basework and no races. OR more of a focus on strength and speed with less mileage. For many people just adding one or two spicy workouts a week is enough to keep them interested and engaged. Nuance for you depends on where you’re coming from and what seems exciting and challenging. So if you’re feeling a bit blah or bored with your training, take on the challenge of creating some nuance to your routine. That’s what the grittiest experts do.

On to tomorrow’s workout: Lakeshore and Leslie. 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO.

(hopefully the path will be clear enough for some good traction)

  1. 1 mile tempo, 2 min rest, 6 x 600 w 1:30 rest, ppl training for a spring marathon finish w 1 mile @ mp
  3.       Option for people wanting to get some faster pick-ups w less timed structure:

1 mile tempo, 2 min rest, 2-3 sets of 1 mile as 200m fast (good form, smooth stride), 200m jog. 2 min bw sets.

That is all – see you in the am!

xo

Seanna

Tuesday, January 21, 2025 – Transitions

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Hi Everyone!

Back to Polar Vortexes here. Just slow your paces, wear lots of clothing, careful of footing, shorten your outings, but try to keep getting out. I don’t say this just for training, but also to help gird us through a tough couple of months. Remember: you don’t have to be in a great mood to start a run, but most likely your mood will be better after it.

Lately I’ve been thinking about life transitions, and how our running has to continually recalibrate as we move through them.

My daughter is in grade 10 and is just starting to take running seriously. She schedules her weeks around her workouts and races, and is figuring out how to fit a run into most days. I see other high-schoolers in the same phase doing similar things. They are learning how to prioritize and compromise and juggle demands in order to make running  part of their lives. By the end of high school, some will find it is too much with all the other demands and will let running take a back seat. I like to think their running experience will always leave them something to come back to though. There is no right or wrong way to do this – transitions are just that. Things change and a running lifestyle may or may not weather the change.

I coach runners in university. This is a big transition for kids as it’s their first time living on their own and figuring out their lives and schedules completely independently. There is a range of how big a space running takes in their lives, but for all of them the multiple demands and the need for prioritization they experienced in high school is magnified. More choices, more work, more pressure. The kids who are able to show up and keep making running work in this phase are becoming by default, “serious runners”.

Not to sound old, but it seems like the blink of an eye before those 4 years of university pass. I also coach many athletes just on the other side or a few years into having jobs in “the real world”. This transition really tests your mettle in how much you want to keep running in your life. At this stage, you find out that you are really just doing this for you. There is no school team which supports you, and your employer doesn’t really want you to make any compromises for your running. You probably still have social circles through running, but the running circles of the past start to dwindle as schedules, geography and lifestyles take people in different directions. This group tends to have a lot of flux as people figure out how to prioritize and keep running in their lives. I’ve seen people disappear for a year or two and then drift back, or just keep showing up every now and then when they can. Again – this is all OK! Everyone figures out what works for them.

Just after this stage I see people starting families. I just received the notice that two fairly serious runners from the post-university group I coach with, had a baby. This will be a big transition to navigate. In fact, from this point on, every developmental stage of your kids and family represents a new transition to your running and where it fits in your life. Many in our current group met and bonded during this particular phase. We still prioritize running, but it’s fluctuates for many of us as anywhere from a 3 to a 6 on the priority list. There are just so many demands. But we accept this and keep doing the best we can – given everything else.

The next transition is the physical limitations transition. We will all enter this one at some point and have to figure out how to navigate it with grace. I’m turning 50 this year and coming face to face with it. As with all the phases beforehand I look ahead to the runners who have navigated this or are currently doing it, and I find inspiration and confidence and I see that it doesn’t all have to end here. We will all figure out how to keep going if that’s what we choose to do. It doesn’t have to look like anything that came before it, and it doesn’t have any expectations.

One guarantee about life is that it keeps changing. We grow, we learn, we fail, we succeed, we love, we grieve. If we treat it right and don’t ask too much of it, running can be there with us through it all.

On to tomorrow’s workout: Frozen Hills + tempo!

For Pottery people, let’s do 1 long, 1 short, 4 min tempo. 3 sets is good in this cold.

Glen Manor people, that’s 400m, 200m, 4 min tempo.

Bundle up and no expectations other than getting out!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 – Tired

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Hey Everyone!

 

I was so impressed with how many people showed up last Wednesday with the temps in the negative teens. It will be a bit warmer tomorrow (not warm!), but now we know we can do it! Way to go all.

 

This past week I’ve been feeling tired. I’m not sure why. My training hasn’t been too intense, although I’ve added more strength than usual and took a day to go cross country skiing. My coaching has intensified a bit with travel to meets on weekends – a fair bit of driving and lots of standing, preparing, cheering, debriefing – but I find it engaging and enjoyable. I have the usual busy-ness with kids, home and family. Not nothing, but also nothing new. So as you can see, there is no one culprit or reason for fatigue. When I analyze it all, I think there’s no real reason I should be feeling tired, so I don’t honour it. I feel like if I haven’t done an objectively hard physical effort, then I don’t really deserve to feel tired and should just push on, pretending I’m not. In the past, I have been able to ‘fake it’ for a few workouts or days, still performing, but exacting a greater toll for the effort than required. And then if I keep going, usually the efforts just get harder and harder until I’m forced to recognize I need a break.

As a coach I realize how ridiculous this is. If I was trying to get the best physical response from my body, I’d rest when tired, even if there is no discernable cause and even if it means missing a workout my teammates are doing. There is no point, I would say, in pushing through when you’re not in a position to adapt to it. I know this. So why do I continually doubt myself? It’s complicated.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but just as the Icelandic people have over 40 words for “snow”, distance athletes could use at least that many to describe “fatigue”. Saying “I’m tired” could mean so many different things and stem from so many causes. I’m familiar with the feeling of “marathon training fatigue” which is different from “track workout fatigue” which is different from “not enough sleep fatigue” which is different from “going non-stop all day fatigue” which is different from “multiple unending demands fatigue” which is different from “pushing in the last set of an interval fatigue”. See what I mean? And when I can’t pinpoint my fatigue as coming from one of these known causes, I start to doubt myself. But maybe I’m allowed to just be tired, with no reason or excuse, and indulge it and come back when I’m not. That’s the ideal. That’s what I’d tell my athletes to do. It’s ok to be tired. You don’t need a reason. You won’t always be tired. But when you are, don’t pretend you’re not. Take a day off, take a week off, run slower, do little bits, … often what you ‘feel’ like doing is a good guide for what you ‘should’ be doing. Listen to your wise body and intuition – that’s a powerful skill!  

 

On to tomorrow’s workout:

Lakeshore and Leslie – 6:05 Drills, 6:15 GO!

 

There are two options for tomorrow:

1.       Boston people are at a good point to do their baseline set of 800’s. 6-8 of them with 1:45 rest. These do not need to be super speedy. The goal is to keep them consistent. (remember: the Yasso predictor is that your average time – not pace – in minutes in an indicator of what you could run in a marathon if you’ve done your marathon training). This is the baseline and not a high bar you need to set. We will repeat these many weeks later when it’s warm and your fitness is greater and it will be nice to see where you’ve come).

 

2.       Chilly people: 1 mile tempo, 3 min rest, 6-8 x 600 w 1:45 rest. The idea here is to go a little faster than the 800 crew – the rest is the same – we’re just trying to find a little more pace. Do the quantity that is right for you – there is still time to build!

 

That is all – see you in the a.m.!

 

xo

 

Seanna

Tuesday, January 7, 2025 – Loving it and having fun

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Hi Everyone!

 

Ah, hope everyone is getting settled and back into their routines. I know, it’s flippin’ freezing out, BUT the days are getting longer and sunnier every day! Small wins.

Many people are taking this time to dig in to new plans and start working towards exciting running goals. I love that. I will say though, from my vantage point both as a parent and a coach, I can’t help but notice that most people are very hard on themselves. Sometimes we think we need to kick ourselves in the pants for one reason or another. And maybe sometimes we do. But mostly, what I want for people, is for them to find a way to fall in love with what they’re doing and have it be fun. We don’t all necessarily need to “tighten up” and become more disciplined. What we need is to figure out how to enjoy what we’re doing, and bring our own personality or flair to it. All training should not look the same. I find it fascinating when I hear what others like or love about running and their training, because it’s always so different. And it changes. If you have a 2 hour long run to do in the cold, how do you figure out how to get into it? Sometimes inviting buddies for parts or all of it is the answer. Sometimes turning it into an exploration adventure run of a new area is what sounds exciting. Sometimes we can really start to look forward to these runs as solo efforts and enjoy spending that time with our thoughts. Or maybe we say “eff the run” and go cross country skiing instead. Like I said – everyone is different.

 

I’m not the best at following a strict plan because I do often tend to go rogue in the name of doing what I like. And as a coach, I don’t mind if others do that to an extent. I want you to experiment and figure out what you love. One day you might feel like running so slowly it feels like a glorified walk. And another day on an ‘easy’ run, you might find a fun flow and end up going faster than you “should”. If you have a tempo scheduled but you need to talk through a problem with your running buddy, or you haven’t quite built up to along long run yet but your mind is craving the time and rhythm on your own, be ok listening to those impulses and doing what you want to do.

I love running. I love most things about running, but not everything and not all the time. I know there are some things I have to put up with or make it through in order to get the full benefits of the parts I love. But running is never a punishment to myself, or a dose of medicine I order myself to take because I think it will make me somehow “better”. I look for and find things I love in most of my runs. And I encourage you all to do the same. Whether you’re striving for big goals or not. Just make sure the balance shows you’re loving it and having fun more than grinding and toiling. That is my hope for everyone.

 

Tomorrow we’re at Lakeshore and Leslie! 6:05 drills, 6:15 GO.

 

Bundle up it’s gonna be cold. On that note, no expectations of running fast.

 

Let’s do sets of 400’s.

4 x 400 w 60 seconds

4 x 400 w 75 seconds

4 x 400 w 90 seconds

3 mins be sets (may have to do jumping jack to stay warm)

Pacing: I think just find a rhythm that might start at tempo and then move faster as you warm up. Personally, I’m just gonna go and have fun 😉

 

That is all – see you in the am!

 

xo

 

Seanna